GAME REPORT

MKB Euroleasing Sopron have booked their first ever ticket to a EuroLeague Women Final Four after completing a two-game sweep of Bourges Basket.

Jelena Milovanovic scored 21 points to lead them to a 70-63 win in Hungary on Friday night, making far easier work of it than they did in the opening game on Tuesday when they had to hold on for a 68-65 victory.

This young Sopron team seemed to have too much energy for Bourges, outrebounding their opponents 31-20.

Nineteen-year-old Milovanovic is the face of the youth movement which has revolutionised this Hungarian team, and she put in another stellar performance here, making five of nine (56%) shots from two-point range and three of six (50%) to pace her team in scoring, while also grabbing eight rebounds.

However, she did show some of her inexperience, contributing seven turnovers to the team total of 16.

Where Tuesday's game was close throughout, Sopron were able to hold Bourges at arm's length most of the way after pulling clear early in the second quarter. Katalin Honti's three-pointer gave them a 32-25 lead at the break and they then scored the first five points of the third quarter to pull further away.

The score was 54-38 when Edit Ratkaine made a pair of free throws with 2:37 to go in the third quarter, but Bourges were not ready to go away yet.

Ana Lelas' lay-up sparked a 9-0 Bourges run that narrowed the gap to 54-47 before Milovanovic ended the fourth quarter with a three-pointer.

Milovanovic sank another long-ranger at the start of the fourth quarter to give her team more breathing room.

They kept the lead at double-digits until the final stages, but as Milovanovic and Katalin Honti both seemed to lose their shooting touch, Bourges finished the game on a 9-2 run to make the final score a little closer than Sopron would have wanted.

Honti had 19 points and four assists for Sopron, shooting seven of 11 (67%) from the field.

Bourges wasted a superb effort from Emmeline Ndongue, who scored 33 points on 13 of 20 (65% shooting), while also grabbing five rebounds.

Lelas was the only other Bourges player to reach double figures with 10 points.

COACH QUOTES

Pierre Vincent (coach of Bourges): "We believed that we can win against this young team with our routine [performance], but we made a lot of mistakes in offense. Congratulations to Sopron, I wish them good luck in the Final Four."

Dóra Horti : "This is the best day in my life! Thanks to our fans for their great support!"